The United States Patent and Trademark Office today published a new patent application (via AppleInsider) from Apple that describes a method of mood-based advertisement. This method infers the mood of the user by monitoring phone activities, and this mood sentiment information would provide advertisers with a powerful consumer intelligence metric they could use to deliver targeted content.

Rather than ask for mood information directly, Apple's method of mood-based advertising relies on indirect means of inferring a user's feelings. This involves the creation of a baseline mood profile that's derived by monitoring app usage, music playback, social network activity and input from various biometric sensors. Once a profile is established, rules then can be applied to the data and used to gauge the relative mood of the user in relation to this baseline.

Quote:

A way of improving targeted content delivery can be to select content based, at least in part, on a user's current mood. One way of accomplishing this could be to query the user regarding their current mood prior to selecting an item of invitational content. A targeted content delivery system can then select an item of invitational content based on the user's response. However, such an approach could quickly lead to user aggravation, and likely a majority of users reporting a similar mood. Instead, a targeted content delivery system can be configured to use an inferred or derived mood, which can be generated using the presently disclosed technology.

This mood information can then be used by Apple and other content providers to gauge a user's responsiveness to a product as well as their interest in that product before deciding which ad or offer to send to the user's handset. This mood information also can be used to adjust select settings on the user's handset.

Though Apple is not an advertising company, the company does have an iAd unit that sells advertising space in iOS Apps and iTunes Radio. Since its debut in 2010, iAd has undergone several leadership changes and is now under the control of Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President for Internet Software and Services.

I just don't understand the loads of money that goes into advertising. Out of the thousands and thousands of ads I've seen on the internet throughout the entirety of my life, I've literally only ever bought one item based off of an ad. And even then, I bought it like months after seeing the ad. It was a wallet

I mean really. For example, no one watches the full 30-second YouTube ads. We all hit the "Skip ad" after the first five seconds as quickly as we can.

a) Apple (and others) patent everything they come up with, just in case they need to defend some future use of it, ever, from anyone. Most of these patents never get used and have nothing to do with actual plans.

b) Even if both Apple and Google used this tech, there's still a difference: Apple makes their money from happy users. Google makes their money from selling users to happy advertisers. Follow the money. The two companies will never treat ads the same.

I just don't understand the loads of money that goes into advertising. Out of the thousands and thousands of ads I've seen on the internet throughout the entirety of my life, I've literally only ever bought one item based off of an ad. And even then, I bought it like months after seeing the ad. It was a wallet

I mean really. For example, no one watches the full 30-second YouTube ads. We all hit the "Skip ad" after the first five seconds as quickly as we can.

Unfortunately they work, otherwise there wouldn't be so many.

The 30 second ones are bad enough. I've seen ones up to 4:50 long - the requested video was shorter! It was for some industrial equipment manufacturer that made things for a very niche market. That one I don't think was targeted so well.

Ooo... That is creepy. So if I'm in a nasty mood is it going to offer me AK47 rifles and explosives? After all, they're trying to make a sale...

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Laird Knox

Unfortunately they work, otherwise there wouldn't be so many.

Not true. The fact that there are lots of spammers and advertisers just means that the people selling the ads and spam services are good at selling ads and spam services. It does NOT mean that the ads and spam actually result in sales of products.

Not true. The fact that there are lots of spammers and advertisers just means that the people selling the ads and spam services are good at selling ads and spam services. It does NOT mean that the ads and spam actually result in sales of products.

Apple must be the dumbest company of all - look at how much they throw away on advertising!

b) Even if both Apple and Google used this tech, there's still a difference: Apple makes their money from happy users. Google makes their money from selling users to happy advertisers. Follow the money. The two companies will never treat ads the same.

Oh, good grief.

Both companies are collecting info about us (actually, more like collecting info, then deciding which ad categories we fit in).

Both companies sell anonymous ad space based on that info.

Neither company sells any personal info.

The biggest difference is that Google gives services in return for those ads.